


binary stars

by skittykitty



Series: New Beginnings [2]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Angst and Humor, Clay | Dream & Technoblade Friendship (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Crack Treated Seriously, Dimension Travel, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Humor, One Shot, So Dream Didn't Sleep, THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED, this one is significantly more
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:34:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29333865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skittykitty/pseuds/skittykitty
Summary: Techno arrives at Dream’s house, while Dream thinks about the possibility of redemption.Sequel to “sunrise”.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: New Beginnings [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2142408
Comments: 18
Kudos: 155





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**Author's Note:**

> Thank you guys for the comments on sunrise!! I hope you enjoy this!! Thank you [Cultivation](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cultivation/pseuds/Cultivation) for betaing this!!

By the time they made it back to Tommy’s old house, the sky was pitch black. The moon was absent from the sky, allowing a beautiful view of thousands of stars in the sky.

All the stars that Earth had covered decades ago with factories and other corporate buildings were now visible. In his youth, Techno could remember seeing hundreds of stars in the Milky Way; now there were maybe a dozen at a time. Constellations were unrecognizable.

The North Star hadn’t been able to guide him home since he was a child.

Now— now, he couldn’t even tell which one was the  _ brightest star.  _ They all shined so brightly, how would he be able to tell which was the way home?

The horizon was lilac— with thousands of tiny white dots lighting up the sky. It looked like a long dark cloud was intertwined with the sky, and it was  _ beautiful. _

“Techno, keep up,” Dream called, having been watching the other stare up at the stars for far too long. “We don’t have all night.”

With a sigh, he looked back at the path. For a while, he continued to follow the other’s lead— followed him away from the path, down a mountain, and to the side of another smaller mountain.

“We’re here.” Techno could hear the anticipatory grin in his friend’s voice, almost smiling at the familiarity of it all. Dream laid his open palm against the wall, his posture screaming of confidence as vividly as a smile would have. 

_ Watch this,  _ he could almost hear Dream say. He’d said it so much— always before doing something Techno deemed stupid. Techno could almost remember the friendly laughter.

Watching the stone disconnect from the wall into a small tunnel, he could almost feel his happiness cracking. The desperation and hopelessness returning from his time outside the Camarvan. 

“Come on in.” Dream waved his hand in front of the entrance. “Welcome home, Techno.”

Something deep inside him broke at the statement. At the acknowledgment that he might never leave this place. 

Without pause, he made his way into Dream’s house.

* * *

Techno didn’t need anyone.

At least, that was how it was normally. If Techno were  _ normal, _ he would’ve yelled at him and run off already. He would have made a big speech about how terrible L’Manberg was— he wouldn’t have sat there silently. 

The real Techno would never have waited for Dream to come back.

It was either a fake… or something terrible had happened to his ally.

_ I can use this,  _ a terrible part of him whispered.  _ Techno was always the most loyal, why don’t you use that? _

But... no. He wouldn’t— not yet. Dream didn’t have to hurt him to have a loyal friend. 

He could tame the anarchist and finally have someone who  _ stayed. _

George and Sapnap had left him— because of things like this. Because of how he manipulated everyone who trusted him. 

Dream smiled wistfully at the memory of his friends. He could almost feel their touch— how they had made him feel as if he would never break. 

It was time to move on.

Techno was looking around the small room, poking through his—  _ their—  _ chests. He cautiously moved items around, as if terrified of messing up the organization. 

“What are you looking for?” A simple, easy question. Something he wouldn’t be able to twist to his favor. 

“I’m not sure,” Techno murmured. Hands still deep in his chest. “Something useful?”

_ You’re plenty useful on your own. _

“Tools? Blocks? You need to be more specific,” he chuckled. The wide smile hurt— almost. It had been so long since he was so earnestly…  _ happy.  _

Techno was good— he didn’t want to hurt anyone.  _ Techno was useless like this.  _ No, this was perfect.

If Techno ever wanted to attack anyone… it would be  _ his _ fault. This innocent version of his ally was… he was just like Tommy, wasn’t he?

A kid in the middle of a war.

One he dragged into the mess, the other he would protect with his all.

If anything were to happen to Techno— well— that was all  _ his _ fault wasn’t it?

“Uh…” Techno looked at the chests for a long moment before closing them. He abandoned his shield and axe beside the bed upon entering the house. “Never mind.” 

The two of them were silent until a loud creak— followed by Techno’s full-body flinch away from the floor— broke the silence.

“What..?” 

“Oh,” Dream chuckled. His hand hovered in front of his mask. Where he would have once covered his mouth, now there was a mask. He had killed that habit months ago. “Beware of the floors; they creak. And don’t jump.”

His friend looked more confused than ever. “What?” 

He grinned, slamming his foot through the fragile wood boards. Of course, he had grabbed something for stability beforehand, but Techno’s expression of pure  _ terror _ made it all worth it.

For what felt like hours, the two of them waited in silence. Dream didn’t retract his foot from the hole— not yet. Not until—

There was a hollow echo of the plank hitting bedrock.

He removed his foot, letting Techno see the deathly fall awaiting them. 

_ “Why?”  _ He whispered, anguish deep in his soul.

_ “Because they thought removing the floor of my house would stop me.” _

Dream cackled as his only friend speedran the stages of grief.

* * *

By the time the two of them calmed down (and patched the hole in the ground), it was long past when they should have been asleep.

So, as a good friend should, Dream gave up the only bed in the house.

“Go to sleep, Techno.”

“No…” Dream had herded him all the way to L’Manberg, and he could herd him to bed  _ easily.  _ He could almost remember a similar time, of a sleepy Sapnap, a passed out George, and him— unsleeping, as always. Sapnap had always worried about his sleep habits, hadn’t he? Maybe it was just his way of showing love. 

Techno sighed, falling back onto the bed as Dream barred him from leaving it. “You don’t have a bed,” he mumbled. 

Dream smiled at his friend, watching his eyes slowly shut as the day’s exhaustion caught up to him. Careful to not wake him up, he carefully removed Techno’s barely-held-together glasses. 

After placing them gently in a pocket, he looked at his friend. His hair was a mess, all tangled and messy. And, most of all, he was laying on top of the blanket.

Hm.

Dream headed towards the lower chests, crouching to search through them. He was quiet, hoping to not wake his roommate. Feeling the soft texture, he began to drag the soft blanket from the depths of the chest.

He had buried it for a reason.  _ It still smelled like them.  _ His hands shook. Dream tried to stifle any sound, biting down on his lip.

_ God, it hurt.  _ Remembering long nights with his friends, the scent of his friends. The texture of late nights.

But he needed  _ proof _ that he would stick to his declaration. Proof that he wouldn’t give up Techno— and… he needed to let go of the past.

Hazel eyes stared at the blanket before looking back to a sleeping Techno.

_ I would never hurt him.  _

His hand clenched on the blanket, emotions warring inside him. Creaks echoed through the small room, nearly soundless to Dream. 

He laid the blanket across Techno’s back and legs. 

Dream turned back to the chests.

He had work to do.

* * *

Sparks rose from the diamonds as he struggled to forge them into place. Forging had never been Dream’s passion nor a skill of his. He was good enough at it to pass, but he never truly cared about the end goal.

Today, that would change.

Today,  _ he _ would change.

If he couldn’t do this for Techno, he might as well just throw him out. _Before he hurt him_ — before he did something he would regret.

The diamonds were burning hot. An accident would cripple him and ruin his control over the server.  _ Don’t you want that? Isn’t that what you’re doing with him? Abandoning everything? _

No— he didn’t have to give  _ everything  _ up for Techno. He would… accept these parts of him, wouldn’t he? Accept the control-freak, accept the manipulator, accept the broken man underneath everything?

Everything depended on this— on the here and now.

There was a sigh from the bed. Techno pulled the blanket closer to him, settling back into sleep.

Dream smiled, eyes softening.

* * *

Torchlight reflected off of the smooth diamond— it had finally set into place. All of his work was finished, now he could truly begin his redemption.

“Techno,” he whispered. A nudge to the shoulder didn’t work, so he waited. “Techno…”  _ wake up, there are governments to topple.  _ No, no. That was something the old Techno would wake up for. Did… did he even know this new version?

“Wake up,” he commanded. His friend groaned, burrowing deeper into the blanket. With a sigh, Dream stood up. “Well, alright then.”

With a sweeping gesture, he pulled the blanket away from the sleeping man. As Techno groaned, Dream carefully placed the blanket on the side of the bed. 

“Come on, come on,” he murmured. Gently, hoping not to spook his friend, he nudged Techno into a sitting position. “Get up.”

Techno squinted at him, hair in shambles. “Ugh.” He had slept in the chestplate. Dream chuckled as the other stretched his arms above his head with a groan.

The peace was broken quickly. 

“So…” Techno drawled, still squinting at him. “Why have you woken me up?”

He was still  _ squinting— _

Oh.

Dream reached into his pocket, retrieving Techno’s glasses. With a smile, he handed it over. His friend sighed in relief.

“I woke you up…” He placed the diamond axe between them. “For a surprise.”

Techno looked confused, but grabbed the axe anyway. When Dream left their home, he followed.

Maybe, they  _ could  _ learn to trust each other.

“What’s the surprise?”

He smiled, glancing over at the other’s significantly shorter strides. Hm. He could carry him, but Techno hadn’t been very happy about it that first time.

But, it was still an option.

“Techno.” There was a bounce to his step as he walked. Temporarily, Dream stopped to let his friend catch up. “I don’t think you can go by that name… not now, at least.”

Techno sighed, begrudgingly nodding. “You’re right, but I don’t exactly have any other names to go by. And don’t think I don’t notice you avoiding the question.” 

Dream hummed, his cloak billowing in the wind. Names, names. They were always the hardest part of creating an identity. “Dream” had been easy to create, inspired as it was from DreamXD.

And,  _ oh. _

DreamXD’s first and most loyal subject. 

“Why don’t you go by Damon?”

* * *

“Your grip’s wrong,” he murmured, already changing Techno’s grip on the axe. 

The small clearing (one George had farmed for wood and never replanted) was flat and easy to move across. Perfect for training.

When everything looked right— Techno’s thumb no longer hooked around the hilt— he stepped back. Techno held the shield like it could protect him from the world. It really couldn’t.

“Right!” He called out, aiming for Techno’s shoulder. Hopefully, he would be able to block it, but Dream would be able to patch it up easily either way.

(The idea of Techno bleeding— staring at him with  _ you did this to me  _ in his eyes… it hurt.)

With a jerk, Techno lifted the shield in time for Dream to feel the  _ clang  _ go all the way up his arm. Thank god. Grinning, Dream continued the (fairly slow) assault.

Techno’s reaction time was getting better, but it wasn’t enough progress. He would have to keep coming out here— keep helping Techno.

_ Isn’t that what friends are for? _

“Stop.” He held up his palm. “Let’s switch.”

Techno’s hand flexed against the axe, almost switching his grip before he righted it.  _ Good, he’s learning.  _ He smiled, a glint of pride in his eyes. 

His opponent lunged with no warning, going for his right side. Instinct threw him backward, outside of his range. His boots carefully dug into the ground, readying to hold against a full-frontal attack.

There was a yell as all of Techno’s weight landed on his shield. Thankfully, with some maneuvering, he was able to take it; still, Dream laughed as he set the other down. 

“Okay,” he said as his chuckles died down. “I think we’re done for today.” 

The two of them walked home, Techno’s golden chestplate glowing as the sun rose in front of them. 

“I’ll be gone tomorrow.” His cloak fluttered in the breeze, almost touching Techno’s back. With a smile, Dream watched his friend fuss with his messy hair. 

“Hm? Why?” 

“Oh,” Dream chuckled without humor. “I’m just visiting an old friend.”

The duo’s footsteps echoed as they walked home, both planning what they would be doing tomorrow. 

(Both would inevitably be wrong.)

**Author's Note:**

> Dream: Techno!! My best friend!!  
> Techno: who are you
> 
> Tell me any predictions y’all have!! It all really starts rolling in the next one!
> 
> You can find me on my [tumblr](https://skitter-kitteruwu.tumblr.com/) where you can pester me to finish half-thought out ideas and scream to me about fics!!


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